Surfside Elects New Mayor and 4 Town Commissioners

Surfside voters head to the polls Tuesday to choose a new Mayor and four Town Commission members, with two ballot questions on zoning and election timing also on the table.

The Mayor’s race draws three candidates who are anything but strangers to Surfside politics. Sitting Vice Mayor Tina Paul, former Town Manager and Commissioner Mark Blumstein, and ex-Mayor Shlomo Danzinger are all competing to replace Mayor Charles Burkett, who is leaving office.

Paul brings the most recent electoral mandate of the three. Now in her second stint on the Town Commission, she first served from 2016 to 2022 and returned to her seat in 2024. She points to a list of accomplishments from her current term: sponsoring measures that waived fees for condominium safety repairs, creating a Community Relations Board and Youth Council, and advancing parks and drainage upgrades. She has also championed memorial efforts connected to the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse, which reshaped Surfside’s identity and building safety priorities.

If she wins the top seat, Paul says she will focus on public safety, fiscal responsibility, transparent governance and what she describes as inclusive leadership designed to rebuild trust at Town Hall. Her platform also calls for carefully managed development that protects Surfside’s character, environmental resilience for a community directly exposed to coastal pressures, and support for local small businesses.

Blumstein’s resume spans decades of public service, but his path to this race runs through some turbulence. A retired U.S. Navy JAG officer and longtime attorney, he served on the Town Commission from 2008 to 2012 and later sat as a Circuit Court Judge from 2017 to 2023. He was appointed Town Manager in December 2024, but the Commission voted 3-2 to fire him in October 2025 amid accusations that he acted unprofessionally and resisted Commission directives. Paul voted for his ouster.

Despite that history, Blumstein is pitching himself as the candidate best equipped to restore stability. He has pledged to defend Surfside’s low-density zoning, tackle flooding and sewage problems, push down water and sewer costs, and pursue new recreational facilities for residents. He frames his campaign around fiscal discipline, respect for the law and rebuilding confidence in local government.

Then there is Danzinger, whose relationship with the Surfside Mayor’s office has been nothing short of a revolving door. He unseated Burkett in 2022, only to lose the seat back to Burkett two years later. His first tenure ended badly. In 2023, he narrowly escaped a formal censure after making racially insulting comments that drew widespread criticism from residents and fellow commissioners, with complaints of general uncivility at Town Hall dogging his time in office.

Less than six weeks after losing his seat, Danzinger launched a bid for Miami-Dade County Mayor. He captured 2% of the vote. A tech and business professional who also works as a political consultant, he is now asking Surfside voters to give him another shot at the job.

The Commission race adds another layer of competition to Tuesday’s ballot. It is an at-large contest with eight candidates chasing four available seats, meaning half the field goes home without a win.

Voters will also weigh in on two ballot questions. One addresses zoning, a particularly charged subject in a town still grappling with the legacy of Champlain Towers and the ongoing pressure of coastal development. The second question deals with the timing of future elections, which could affect how and when Surfside residents choose their leaders in coming cycles.

Surfside is a small town, but Tuesday’s election carries real weight. The Mayor’s race alone pits three figures with complicated histories against each other, and the winner will inherit a community still navigating questions about building safety, coastal resilience and the kind of leadership residents actually want at the top. The Commission seats will shape whether the next Mayor can build consensus or gets blocked at every turn.

Polls are open Tuesday. Surfside residents should check the Miami-Dade County Elections website for their specific polling location and hours.